Imran Khan was offered elections 'on a plate': Irfan Siddiqui.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui revealed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was offered the elections "on a plate" but he squandered the opportunity due to his stubbornness and bullying, media reported Monday.

The senator, while speaking during an interview on two private TV channels, said that it was decided that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would resign in May and elections would be held by September 2022.

'It was decided that Shehbaz Sharif would resign in May, but the bullying tactics of Imran Khan forced the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to revise their plans,' revealed Siddiqui.

'The message was also indirectly conveyed to Imran Khan that the government would be resigning and that elections for the four provincial assemblies and the National Assembly would be held by September 2022,' he said, adding that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif's stance on his brother's resignation was clear.

The senator also said that Nawaz was not in favour of moving the no-confidence motion against Khan despite the widespread public discontentment with his government.

'Instead, Nawaz Sharif believed that if allowed to continue, Imran Khan's government would ultimately self-destruct under the weight of its own anti-people policies,' he disclosed during an interview.

Furthermore, Senator Siddiqui clarified that while 90% of the revelations attributed to General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa by journalist Shahid Maitla were accurate but the claim that he had written about Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's 'farewell speech' was false.

The senator also reiterated that Gen (retd) Bajwa was seeking an extension beyond November 2022 and that some senior PML-N leaders had also advised Nawaz to consider the request. 'However, Nawaz Sharif remained steadfast in his belief that there should be no question of even one day's extension,' he said.

Siddiqui revealed that even in 2019, Nawaz was vehemently against Bajwa's extension and the associated legislation. 'Immense pressure from some PML-N members persuaded him to accept the...